Massachusetts General Hospital

Instructor of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School
Research Areas

• To elucidate the mechanisms by which transfusing stored red blood cells (RBCs) inducing adverse effects (e.g. vasomotor, inflammatory, and platelet activating responses)
• To develop in vitro and in vivo methods to reduce the adverse effects to infusion of RBCs stored for prolonged periods  
• To evaluate the efficacy and safety of transfusing blood substitutes (hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers)

Description of ResearchMy research interest has been focused on blood transfusion and blood substitutes. We have developed two animal models of blood storage, one in the mouse and one in the sheep. We have characterized the storage models in vitro and in vivo. Most recently, we have studied of transfusion fresh RBCs and stored RBCs to resuscitate mice and sheep from hemorrhagic shock. We have been working on selectively oxidizing the supernatant oxy-hemoglobin of stored RBCs to met-hemoglobin, and, thereby, preventing the adverse responses to stored RBC transfusion. My goal is to make transfusion of human blood stored for prolonged periods a safer clinical process.

Selected Publications

• Lei C, Yu B,** Shahid M, Beloiartsev A, Bloch KD, Zapol WM. Inhaled nitric oxide attenuates the adverse effects of transfusing stored syngeneic erythrocytes in mice with endothelial dysfunction after hemorrhagic shock. Anesthesiology 2012 (In press) **co-first author
• Berra L, Coppadoro A, Yu B, Lei C, Spagnolli E, Steinbicker AU, Bloch KD, Lin T, Sammy FY, Warren HS, Fernandez BO, Feelisch M, Dzik WH, Stowell CP, Zapol WM. Transfusion of stored autologous blood alters reactive hyperemia and circulating nitrite levels in healthy volunteers. Anesthesiology 117: 56-63, 2012.
• Baron DM, Yu B, Lei C, Bagchi A, Beloiartsev A, Stowell CP, Steinbicker AU, Malhotra R, Bloch KD, Zapol WM. Pulmonary hypertension in lambs transfused with stored blood is prevented by breathing nitric oxide. Anesthesiology 116: 637-647, 2012.
• Yu B, Lei C, Baron DM, Steinbicker AU, Bloch KD, Zapol WM. Diabetes augments and inhaled nitric oxide prevents the adverse hemodynamic effects of transfusing syngeneic stored blood in mice. Transfusion 52: 1410-22, 2012.
• Lui FE, Yu B, Baron DM, Lei C, Zapol WM, Kluger R. Hemodynamic responses to a hemoglobin bis-tetramer and its polyethylene glycol conjugate. Transfusion 52: 974-982, 2012.
• Yu B, Shahid M, Egorina EM, Sovershaev MA, Raher MJ, Lei C, Wu MX, Bloch KD, Zapol WM. Endothelial dysfunction enhances vasoconstriction due to nitric oxide scavenging by a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier. Anesthesiology 112: 586-594, 2010.

Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine

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